RETRO TRUCK
(^102) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
parked up for almost a
year. You could see the
effect that had on it, with
air valves sticking.
“Now, it never misses a beat
and it never had done. Its
reliability record over the years
has been phenomenal. All the
time my dad worked it, I don’t
think it broke down once.”
Acquired a 143
The 92M has been around all of
Aaron’s life so, understandably,
the truck has made quite an
impression on him. And perhaps
due to the fact he has four
siblings, he has now sought out
one for the little Scania, a bigger
brother (sister?) to keep it
company in the shape of a 143.
Not just any 143 though; it had to
be the pre-Streamline square-
front example, ideally with the
steel bumper. A 142 would have
done nicely too, but they seem to
be like hens’ teeth in comparison
with the 3-series successor.
Anyway, as luck would have it,
Aaron found by accident the
perfect candidate at Cammack
Commericals in Essex, which
was using it as its yard shunter.
“I approached them and,
when I explained what I wanted,
and how it had to be such a
specific model, they agreed to
sell it,” he smiles.
The 143 has since made its
way back to Somerset, where it’ll
be restored to the same colour
scheme as the 92M. The history
of the truck is unclear; if anyone
knows anything about it, get in
touch. Like any V8, it’ll have led
an interesting life. Judging by the
size of that fuel tank, it’s done
Continental work, and someone’s
cared enough to fit a set of
rip-snorting sidepipes too.
We point out that, while the
92M is a bit on the small side to
be hauling a loaded fridge trailer, a
500hp V8 it most certainly is not.
“Well, we will see what it’s like
when it’s done,” he laughs. “The
thing about the trucks from this
era is they were so simple, they
genuinely could be fixed at the
side of the road. We wanted a V8
that was pre-electronics, and this
one is an L-reg, which is getting
toward the end of this model.”
It’ll be interesting to see how
it turns out, and even more
interesting to see if it gains more
attention than the 92M. We
suspect it won’t. Moral of the
story? See that little P360 or
G400 tractor unit sitting in the
corner of your yard? Maybe you
should give it a wash and a
polish and keep it in a shed
because one day it might just
upstage a long line of super-spec
R and S730s!
Cool for Catleys
Catley Chilled Foods has gradually evolved over the years to
become a specialist in certain types of food, such as cheese
from Somerset, ham and pork pies. A big change came with a
move from a restricted O-licence to a Standard National.
“We’re running down to Cornwall three days a week, so it
makes good sense for us to ensure we’re loaded both ways –
and we couldn’t do that with the old licence,” explains Aaron.
“We work with food wholesalers, discount shops, markets
and also some of the big food chain suppliers to supermarkets.
We can buy split pallets of goods or job lots of product and
divide it up for our customers or sell it on ourselves. It’s a good
variety of work and every week is different.”
Aaron’s father Ralph bought the truck in 1989 from
Haydock Commercials for £6900 plus VAT (of 15%)